Shafqat and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the eligibility of the applicant, Mr. Shafqat, for a disability support pension. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Shafqat met the criteria under section 94(1)(b) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth), which requires a person to have a continuing inability to work and for their conditions to be fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. The Tribunal was tasked with determining which of Mr. Shafqat's medical conditions, including bilateral deep vein thrombosis, depression, PTSD, and chronic pain, could be assigned an impairment rating and whether these conditions met the legislative requirements for permanence.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the assessment of the applicant's medical conditions against the relevant impairment tables. It was found that Mr. Shafqat's conditions were not considered permanent under the *Social Security Act 1991*. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it was not necessary to proceed to consider the further question of whether he had a continuing inability to work during the qualification period.

The decision under review was affirmed.